AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

A developer sought to construct a three-story apartment complex on a 2.644-acre site in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The site included a narrow strip of land historically zoned residential, while the adjacent lots were zoned for commercial use. The developer argued that the residential zoning of the strip was a mistake due to a mapping error, while a neighborhood association contended it was intentionally left as a buffer between residential and commercial areas (paras 2-4).

Procedural History

• Environmental Protection Commission, June 20, 1996: Approved the developer's site development plan and rezoning request for the strip of land (para 5).
• Land Use Planning and Zoning Commission, August 14, 1996: Recommended denial of the neighborhood association's appeals against the rezoning and site development plan approval (para 6).
• Albuquerque City Council, August 19, 1996: Accepted the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation and denied the neighborhood association's appeals (para 7).
• District Court of Bernalillo County: Affirmed the City Council's decisions (para 7).

Parties' Submissions

• Appellant (Huning Castle Neighborhood Association): Argued that the residential zoning of the strip was intentional, serving as a buffer, and that there was no substantial evidence of a mistake. They also contended that the proposed apartment complex exceeded permissible density under the applicable sector development plan (paras 4, 18).
• Respondents (City of Albuquerque and Cauwels Construction & Development, Inc.): Asserted that the residential zoning of the strip was a mapping error and that the rezoning was necessary to correct this mistake. They also argued that the proposed density complied with the sector development plan (paras 3-4, 18-19).

Legal Issues

• Was there sufficient evidence to support the City Council's determination that a mistake had been made in the zoning of the strip of land?
• Did the proposed apartment complex comply with the density requirements of the applicable sector development plan?

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's judgment, upholding the City Council's decisions on both issues (para 21).

Reasons

Per Donnelly J. (Bosson and Wechsler JJ. concurring):

• The Court found substantial evidence supporting the City Council's determination that the residential zoning of the strip was a mistake. Evidence showed that the strip had been historically owned with adjacent commercial lots and that the failure to rezone it in 1981 was likely an oversight. The presumption against zoning mistakes was rebutted by the developer's evidence (paras 10-14).
• The Court rejected the neighborhood association's argument that the developer needed to prove the mistake by "strong" or "compelling" evidence, instead applying a standard of reasonableness. The City Council's decision was deemed reasonable based on the evidence presented (paras 13-14).
• Regarding density, the Court held that the proposed apartment complex complied with the sector development plan, which allowed uses permissive in R-2 zones, including a density of up to 30 units per acre. The proposed density of 27.6 units per acre was within this limit (paras 18-20).
• The Court dismissed additional arguments by the neighborhood association, including claims about restrictive covenants and prior zoning decisions, as lacking merit or relevance (paras 15-17).